Caesars Entertainment Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CZR)

Key Points

• Caesars Entertainment experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 27,675 put options purchased—up 138% compared to its average daily volume.
• The company's stock price fell by 3.7%, trading at $28.33, with a market capitalization of $5.89 billion and a negative earnings per share of ($0.54) for the last quarter.
• Institutional investors have shown increasing interest, with Vontobel Holding Ltd., UMB Bank n.a., and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB all raising their stakes in the company.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 27,675 put options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately138% compared to the average volume of 11,619 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caesars Entertainment from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Caesars Entertainment from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 508.5% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,034 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. FIL Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 168.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.79% of the company's stock.

Caesars Entertainment Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of CZR stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.68. 7,822,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,481,769. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of -27.91 and a beta of 2.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $28.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.08. Caesars Entertainment has a 12 month low of $21.40 and a 12 month high of $45.93.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.46). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 1.71% and a negative return on equity of 4.55%. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.56) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.77 EPS for the current year.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment, Inc operates as a gaming and hospitality company. The company owns, leases, or manages domestic properties in 18 states with slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, and hotel rooms, as well as table games, including poker. It also operates and conducts retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America and operates iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America; sports betting from our retail and online sportsbooks; and other games, such as keno.